Holiday Gun Sales Test New Background Check System
DENVER (CBS4) – The Colorado Bureau of Investigation's new system of background checks for gun sales got put to the test with Black Friday holiday shopping.
The CBI has been working on a system to serve the demand for guns for more than a year.
Sporting good stores across the state saw a rush of gun sales on Black Friday.
Retail Gun sellers saw their biggest holiday of the year.
According to the CBI more than 3,300 background checks were filed.
A full staff was in place at 4 a.m. to accommodate the rush of sales.
"We see the numbers. We know what they're going to be. We have to provide a good resource for the customers," said CBI spokeswoman Susan Medina
The CBI's new background check system takes less than three minutes and they are hoping to improve that time.
It comes as gun sales appear to be on a downward swing. Last year 1,000 more guns were sold on Black Friday.
"I think they'll be softer than in years past. There's some market saturation and there been a political drive, it's not there," said Gunsmoke Gun Shop owner Rich Wyatt.
Rich Wyatt says sales may dip because new laws make gifting firearms more challenging.
He says unless laws change the next spike in sales could come from a national tragedy
"We'll see other things. If you remember the Rodney King riots that happened in California. Those spiked gun sales in Colorado. And so it could be anything that could spike gun sales here," said Wyatt.
Some retailers say guns sales this year may not just spike on Black Friday, but stay high through the entire holiday shopping season.
